It was one of the biggest 2nd Region boys’ basketball games of the season. With the top seed in the 8th District tournament and an automatic trip to the 2nd Region tournament on the line, the Hopkinsville Tigers and University Heights Academy Blazers squared off Thursday night in Blazer Gym.
And the game lived up to the hype.
Hopkinsville used the inside strength of Reece Jesse, Jamarcus Burks, and K.C. Cabiness to pull ahead in the 4th quarter and then survived some shaky free-throw shooting in the final two minutes to pick up an 82-78 win over UHA in Blazer Gym. The Tigers were able to get the win despite going just 8-20 at the free-throw line late in the game.
The win was the fourth in five games for the Tigers since returning from a three-week quarantine period.
The first quarter saw defensive pressure, high energy, and plenty of offense. The Blazers got out to the early 5-2 lead, only to see Hopkinsville rip off an 8-0 spurt to go up 10-5. Hoptown got big starts from Reece Jesse and Jamarcus Burks to get to the lead.
UHA would battle back to tie the game at 15-15 behind the efforts of William Bryan and Edward Braxton. Over the final minutes of the quarter, there would be three ties and three lead changes, the last of which came on an Amani McGee jumper just ahead of the horn, which gave the Blazers a 21-20 lead.
The pace did not slow down one iota in the second quarter, not one. The opening moments of the quarter saw two more ties and six lead changes. William Bryan, D.J. Quarles, and Amani McGee kept the pedal to the metal for the Blazer offense, while Alijah Watts, Reece Jesse, and Jamarcus Burks were pounding the ball down inside for the Tigers.
With the game tied at 29-29, UHA went on an 8-2 run to take the lead at 37-31. It would be a lead that the Blazers would hold for the rest of the half. As the two teams headed off to the locker room for a well-earned breather at the half, UHA held the lead at 44-40.
UHA’s defense generated 9 Hoptown turnovers in the opening 16 minutes. Hoptown’s strength inside kept em close as the Tigers won the battle of the boards in the half 22-12. Unlike their late-game free-throw shooting, the Tigers were dead-eye at the line in the first half, connecting on 10 of 12 free-throw attempts.
Most of the third quarter played out just like the first half. There were five lead changes and two ties in the quarter. The last tie came at 55-55. The Tigers would then score the final four points of the quarter to go up 59-55 heading into the final eight minutes. Hoptown would not trail again in the contest.
After being held to just a free throw in the first half, the Tigers’ Daisjuan Mercer began to attack the basket in the third quarter, getting good looks in the lane or finding opportunities to dish the ball off to a teammate. The Tigers rebounding continued to pay off in second-chance points, which were a big factor in Hoptown regaining the lead.
Hopkinsville was able to stretch the lead out to as many as eight points in the final quarter, the last time coming at 74-66. Over the final couple minutes of the game, as the Blazers used attacking offense and sending the Tigers to the free-throw line, UHA would get as close as 76-75, but a Reece Jesse breakaway dunk and some key free throws from Arthur McKnight enabled the Tigers to hold on for the win.
Alijah Watts led four Tigers in double figures with 20 points. Reece Jesse and Jamarcus Burks each added 19, while Daisjuan Mercer finished with 11.
UHA’s Amani McGee was the top scorer in the game with 23. D.J. Quarles and William Bryan added 19 points each for the Blazers.
Hopkinsville improves to 6-3 with the win and claims the top seed for the 8th District tournament. UHA drops to 8-9 and will be the #2 seed for the tournament.
UHA returns to action again on Monday when they take on Hopkinsville again, this time at Tiger Gym.
Hopkinsville travels to the other side of North Drive for their next contest as they have the return matchup against Christian County on Saturday. The Tigers picked up an 88-57 home court win over the Colonels on Monday night.
HHS — 20 20 19 23 – 82
UHA — 21 23 11 23 – 78
Hopkinsville (6-3) – Watts 20, Jesse 19, Burks 19, Mercer 11, McKnight 9, Cabiness 4
University Heights (8-9) – McGee 23, Bryan 19, Quarles 19, Crump 9, Braxton 6, Grubbs 2
